Chapter 16 Chapter Fifteen

In the past, in order to prevent pirate attacks on Prison Gate Island, all villages were gathered on the west side of the island.Of course, on the other hand, except for the west side of Prison Gate Island, there is almost no flat land where people can live. Suribachi Mountain is not very high. Except for the west side, the other three directions are cliffs rising from the sea. There is neither a place to anchor, nor a place where people can go ashore.Therefore, as long as the west side of the island is controlled, hunting down those who fled into the mountains is as simple as catching a turtle in a jar.

The moon hangs on the top of Mount Suribachi, the sky is full of stars, and Prison Gate Island presents a silver world under the brilliance of the stars and the moon.Just light the torch and you will be in this silver world, swimming on the hillside like a will-o'-the-wisp. On the top of Mt. Suribachi there is an ancient pirate’s cottage, and the shouts of the young people in Souyama echoed in the valley, like a faint thunder coming from afar. Kindaichi Kosuke silently followed the team led by Officer Isokawa, and he found that Kiyoshi was also in the search team. "You're here too!"

Kosuke Kindaichi revealed a face of surprise, and said with a smile. Duke Qing smiled mischievously and said: "This is a rare thing these days. How can I stay out of it? Besides, this thing is really big!" "Indeed. What do the people on the island say?" Kindaichi Kosuke asked. "There's a lot of talking. Others love to gossip, and we can't take him for granted, so we have to let them talk. This incident not only surprised me, even the people on the island were also surprised..." Shimizu pretended to be mysterious in the middle of the sentence, and asked Kinda Kazuko to ask urgently:

"Why are you surprised?" "You! At first, everyone suspected you. From the perspective of the people on the island, you are a homeless man. No one knows your details. No wonder everyone doubts you." "I can't kill Hanako or Yukie, can I?" Kindaichi Kosuke retorted helplessly. "In order to seize the property of the ghost head family, what is impossible? Now everyone knows that you are a detective, and everyone is shocked. So I said that people should not be judged by their appearance. Don't look at your inconspicuous appearance. After all, Edo people are Edo people."

Shimizu said in a flattering tone. "Thank you. You said that I want to seize my family's property. Where do you start? Even if I kill Huazi and Xuezhi, the family's property will not reach me, will it?" Kosuke Kindaichi kept the topic on the "motive for murder", hoping that Qinggong could provide some opinions of the island residents. "Okay! After killing the three sisters Tsukiyo, Yukie, and Hanako, and hooking up with Sanae and forming a husband and wife, you can justifiably become a member of the Onitomoto clan. That's what the islanders say."

When Qing Gong said this, he deliberately turned his head, glanced at Kindaichi Kosuke, and then said: "I don't think so. No matter what, you are an Edo person. How could you do such a thing? If you want money, you can just grab it with a gun? How can an Edo person be so cowardly? Kindaichi-san, I'm on your side!" Kosuke Kindaichi felt that he was regarded as a suspect who had been treated softly, and he couldn't help feeling both ridiculous and disturbed. "Boss, this is just like the story of a rich family seizing property in ancient times! Am I the role of the bad housekeeper?"

"And there is also a little boy who is raised by his concubine. Movies like Otsuki Neizosuke in Iega Riot and Kurohashi Jutai in Kuroda Riot, everyone can't get enough of it!" Duke Qing chattered. "Boss, do people on the island often associate drama with reality?" Kindaichi Kosuke asked strangely. Shimizu once told Kindaichi Kosuke that the way of thinking of the residents on the island is somewhat divorced from reality. "Not necessarily. However, everyone likes to watch dramas, so they will be affected to some extent. For example, the dead Kaemon was a drama fan. Do you know? The theater stage built in Yongnian; the Onishi Theater Troupe in Osaka also rebuilt this stage, which still retains the ancient Japanese style, and it can still perform. Therefore, actors in Kyoto have performed some wonderful plays here.”

When it comes to drama, Duke Qing is particularly interested. He was originally a talkative person, but now he is even more eloquent. "Kaemon admires this troupe very much. As long as there is a good show, he will go to see it with eight oars. He is rich and powerful, and often buys the entire balcony and takes his fishermen to watch it. .I was often taken care of by him, and went to the theater with him. Now thinking of that period of heyday, it’s really like a dream.” "It turns out that you are under the care of Kaemon, no wonder you are more partial to the Onitou Honke. It seems that you are very good at Kaemon's favor!"

"That's not true. I myself came from performing Zahai. There are many kinds of Zahai. What I'm good at is Guanfu, which is commonly known as Guanju. When I was young, I was very keen on this kind of performance. I once invited my colleagues to invite Mr. Kubo Taro, who is a master of sentence sentences, gave guidance." When Duke Qing explained his background, he said half-smugly and half-sentimentally: "Miscellaneous haiku was popular in Honshu. For a while, there were more than a dozen magazines that introduced kanji, and everyone called it haiku to save trouble. The kansuke I acted was similar to Senryu. It was elegant and quiet. Sentences can even be used as the beginning of haiku; Kaemon likes all kinds of entertainment, although he also makes lingering sentences, but he likes miscellaneous haiku far more than haiku, and he even took the nickname of Jimon."

Duke Qing explained the form and content of miscellaneous haiku very expertly. Kosuke Kindaichi suddenly understood that the crooked earthworm-like characters on the screen-colored paper were written by Kaemon! "The word "Jimen" comes from Prison Gate Island. He considers himself the owner of Prison Gate Island. Every time there is a poetry meeting, he says that it would be impossible without Duke Qing. As soon as I arrived at the meeting place, I was warmly welcomed by him. I really see it differently.” Qing Gong mentioned Kaemon, obviously showing a feeling of nostalgia.

"Kaemon is such a character! Is it because he likes drama so much that Sanmatsu and I married an actress as his successor?" Kosuke Kindaichi asked a question that he wanted to ask very much. Ever since Shiho yelled and yelled at Tengu's nose in the morning, Kosuke Kindaichi has been quite curious about the mother of the three sisters Yue, Yuki and Hana. It's a pity that when everyone knows that he is a detective, no matter what he asks, the islanders will be cautious, so that they can't get the truth.He had been looking for an opportunity to raise this question naturally, and now that Qing Gong was by his side who was well-informed and liked to express his opinions, the opportunity really appeared. "Although Kaemon's liking for drama has something to do with Sansong's marriage to an actress, it does not mean that Kayouemon agrees to the marriage. The actress's name is Saya, I don't know if it is her real name or her stage name. When Saya was a concubine, Kaemon was very dissatisfied and even strongly opposed it." Qinggong said mysteriously, as if he was afraid that Xiaoye's soul would hear it. "Do you know that little night?" Kindaichi Kosuke asked anxiously. "I've never seen her. She passed away less than half a year after I arrived on this island. I've heard about her all the time." Qing Gong pushed himself completely in this matter. "I heard that she is good at entering bells in Daocheng Temple. Did you and Sansong fall in love with her dancing skills and take her as a concubine?" Kindaichi Kosuke clung to the topic tightly. "Yes, when Kaemon heard that she was good at playing Dojoji, Fox Tadanobu, Kuzunoha... these monsters that can transform into human form, he hired the whole theater troupe and invited them to the island to perform. He was still at home A stage was set up in the courtyard of the house, and they performed Daocheng Temple there. At that time, Wantai’s mother had just passed away, and the room was deserted. A beautiful actress came to act like a baby. Of course, Sansong and Sansong were as happy as a cat seeing a fish. , took the opportunity to take her as a concubine. Kaemon was very careful about such things, and of course he was very angry when he saw this with Mimatsu." "Why does Kaemon object?" Kindaichi Kosuke thought to himself: There might be a key to solving the case here, so he asked in a tone eager to know the reason. "Does it need to be said? One is an actress of unknown origin, and the other is a wealthy and powerful shipowner on the island. The rules on the island are: Even if you know the identity of the other party, you will not marry a foreigner." "It's no wonder, Xiaoye broke the rules of the island, Master Taige will definitely not give her a good face!" Kosuke Kindaichi took advantage of the situation to put forward his own ideas. "Yeah! If she is an ordinary woman from a good family, that's fine. But she is not a fuel-efficient lamp. She keeps using Sansong, and Sansong obeys that woman even more. Although they are under the same roof, the relationship between father and son is extremely different. Harmony, even for a period of time, Yu Sansong wanted to force Kaemon to abdicate, at that time, Kaemon seemed to be haunted by ghosts, and suddenly aged a lot." Qing Gong mentioned Kaemon, with a somewhat regretful tone in his tone. . "This woman is also quite powerful." "That's right! If it wasn't for her messing around like that, my family is now headed by Sansong, and Xiao Ye has also become the proprietress of the ship owner." "What did Xiao Ye stir up?" "Pray" "pray?" Kosuke Kindaichi suddenly remembered the appearance of Tsukiyo saying that he was going to pray, and he looked at Kiyoko with his chest heaved and heaved with a look of surprise. "That's right, you also know that there is a prayer house in the backyard of my house! That's what Sansong built for Xiaoye. I don't know where Xiaoye learned the blessing prayer spell. When I came to the island, she was already a dying patient." Therefore, it has long been impossible to do spells." Duke Qing paused for a moment, then continued: "It is said that she was very imposing for a while, just like Jing Yuqian or Buddha, rang the bell, lit incense, and said in her mouth: The Holy Heaven of Ikoma, the Holy Heaven of Hanoi, please come here, and this is a woman of a certain age. Waiting Prayer." He said like he was reciting his lines, imitating Xiao Ye's tone when he cast the spell. Kindaichi Kosuke couldn't help laughing. "Why are you reading these?" "Shengtian is a relative of the Buddha. According to what you say, Xiaoye is simply a witch!" Kosuke Kindaichi added another sentence, while thinking—— Tsukiyo was dressed more like a witch than a nun. "Whether it's blessing or prayer, as long as it works, we don't care whether it's a Buddha or a witch! Xiao Ye must have learned this skill when she was performing everywhere." Duke Qing said decisively. Then, he cleared his throat, and without waiting for Kosuke Kindaichi to speak, he took the initiative to say: "Everyone said that she was very spiritual. For example, she had stomach pains and tumors. When she recited them, the pain disappeared. At that time, many people suffered from some kind of strange disease. I heard that she was thinking about Ikoma Holy Ten, Hanoi Holy Spirit, etc. God please come down, what is the age and birth of so-and-so, etc., and then give the patient a strange water to drink, and it can make the patient heal, it is incredible! Not to mention Sansong, even the people who believe in her on the island More and more, gradually, people from other islands also came to beg her, and her reputation spread far and wide. It was very lively. But this is very bad for Xiaoye." Duke Qing made an assertion in an authoritative posture. "What's wrong? Isn't the more believers, the more famous it is?" "It looks like this. But Xiao Ye was too arrogant, and she forgot to say hello to the monk of Qianguang Temple." "Oh, that's right!" "The monk didn't find it interesting. People who used to go to the monastery to ask about good and bad luck gradually became Xiaoye's believers. The monk was originally a big-hearted person. At first he just turned a blind eye, but Xiaoye's influence grew stronger and stronger. , and even claimed to be the patriarch of the Xiaoye Shengtian Sect, and made some messy teachings, and now even the monk can't bear it. Although the monk has a big heart, once he gets angry, no one can stop him, and he is determined to destroy the Xiaoye Shengtian Sect." "It's interesting, boss, you can really tell stories!" Kindaichi Kosuke didn't want to interrupt Qing Gong's conversation, so he praised Qing Gong at the right time. "You are too much. In short, on this island, being an enemy of a monk is self-destruction. Although believers are taken away, the traditional power of the temple cannot be disintegrated overnight. Kayouemon and Sansong have frequent disputes. However, the monk always adopts a neutral position, and once he is determined to destroy Xiaoye Shengtianjiao, he will form an alliance with Kaemon, so even if Xiaoye has the ability to reach the sky, there is no way to recover." Qinggong said excitedly. "Under the joint efforts of the shipowner and the temple, the believers of Xiaoye Shengtianjiao were gradually losing, so she became more and more panicked, and then began to say that the tsunami would sweep the entire island, Mount Suribachi would be divided into two, and there would be a fire Rain and so on, the more people on the island listened to it, the more they felt that it was outrageous, and they gradually stopped looking for her. She also said that prayers would be effective only if the roots of her personality had to be reshaped, and she also used fire chopsticks to burn believers. At this time, everyone knew that her spirit There might be a problem, so Kaemon built a confinement room at home and locked her in. Xiaoye Shengtianjiao completely collapsed at this point." When Qing Gong said this, his tone was full of complacency, as if Xiaoye Shengtian sect collapsed, and he also had some credit. "What about Sansong?" "In Kaemon's eyes, Sansong and Sansong are insignificant. He has never disobeyed Kaemon since he was a child. This time, he met the military advisor Saya, and he did those things. The military advisor was locked up in the confinement room. , he is like a beast whose claws have been pulled out, and he dare not fight against his father again." When Kiyoshi mentioned the confinement room, Kindaichi Kosuke's eyes lit up, and he continued to ask: "Is that the case with Sansong?" Duke Qing shook his hand and said: "No, I heard that he secretly released Xiaoye from the confinement room, and it didn't take long for Xiaoye to go crazy and died. I don't know if it was a big blow, or there were other reasons, and it didn't take long for Sansong to go crazy, the same He was locked up in a confinement room. It is because of a woman like Xiao Ye that our family got entangled in a lot of things." Qing Gong blamed Xiaoye for the reason of going crazy with Sansong. "Is Xiaoye the biological mother of the three sisters?" "Of course it is. Wandering female entertainers are not just performers, they often sell themselves, and because of this, they often have abortions. It's incredible that a woman like Xiao Ye can have children." Qinggong showed contempt on his face. "Is the child born lucky or unlucky? Just look at those three crazy girls. It is said that Xiao Ye is really a beauty, with a high nose and big eyes. Unfortunately, when I knew her, She has become as ugly as a ghost." This is the only sentence Qing Gong said about Xiao Ye with a tone of regret.But he didn't regret Xiao Ye's early death, but regretted that he didn't have good eyesight. "Oh! It's really interesting." Kindaichi Kosuke heartily agreed. At this moment, a gunshot rang out in the valley, followed by two, three... In an instant, shouts echoed everywhere in the valley, and the crowd searching the mountain also gathered towards the place where the gunshot was fired. Officer Isokawa excitedly said to Kosuke Kindaichi: "Hey! Kindaichi, it seems that the murderer has been found!" "Let's go check it out! Hope no one gets hurt." Kosuke Kindaichi said loudly. Police officer Lunchuan led his mountain search team to the vicinity of the top of Mount Suribachi quickly. Everyone was panting and struggling to move forward on the mountain path under the moonlight, constantly stumbling over tree roots or stones. "Be careful, everyone. There is a trench near here, and in front of it are anti-aircraft surveillance posts and anti-aircraft artillery positions." Takezou gasped behind Officer Isokawa to remind everyone. There used to be a slightly sloping and smooth platform nearby. During the war, the army used the rocks protruding from this platform, or things like skinny pine trees, to dig trenches like spider webs, and some of these trenches were exposed. Yes, there are also many traps or underground passages covered with cover. "The terrain here is so complicated, it's so easy to hide here." Officer Isokawa sighed with emotion. "The gunshots came from a little above." Kosuke Kindaichi told Officer Isokawa. "Yeah, why is it suddenly so quiet now?" Shimizu asked Takezo in a low voice. "Go up and have a look first! Be careful, the murderer has a gun!" Takezo said calmly to the youths of the Souyama team. Everyone climbed up cautiously. Suddenly, several people rushed out from the corner of the rock. "who is it?" Officer Isokawa asked loudly. "Isn't that Qingshui? Did you shoot just now?" Kosuke Kindaichi saw that it was Shimizu at a glance, and immediately asked loudly. "Yes, but the opponent fired first, and we fired back." "What about that person?" Officer Isokawa asked nervously. "Suddenly disappeared in some ditch around here. By the way, we found something. Hey, get the stuff out." After Qing Shui finished speaking, the person standing behind took out a pot, a rice bag, a seasoning bottle, two or three radishes, dried fish, a kitchen knife, bowls and chopsticks. Officer Isokawa's eyes were wide open, as if he didn't believe there were these things here. "Where did you find this?" Officer Isokawa stared at Shimizu and asked. "In the ditch opposite." "You misunderstood, I mean, where did he find these things?" "Officer, it's obvious that these things were taken out of the ghost head's house." Shimizu said confidently. "My family has lost so many things, it's impossible for no one to find out!" Police officer Isokawa murmured to himself in some puzzlement. "Of course they found out, but if they don't say anything, it means... ah! Someone climbed up." Everyone looked in the direction pointed by Kinda Ichiko's assistant. "who is it?" Qing Shui gave a loud drink and took a few steps forward at the same time. "Ah! Qing Shui, it's me! I'm worried, so I came here to see. I heard gunshots just now. Did the bad guys get caught?" The person who came was the head of Araki Village. After he said this series of words, he pursed his lips and walked over in a calm manner. "Village chief, is the vigil over?" "it's over." "My family... and, is Yuedai okay?" Kosuke Kindaichi asked worriedly. "Very well, I heard her praying when I went out. The doctor and Liozawa are waiting for everyone to come back at this house." The village chief said calmly. "Where is the monk?" Kosuke Kindaichi asked again worriedly. "Just now the monk had a rheumatism attack and went back to the temple; the family members also went back. Please don't worry, there are young people watching at the entrance, everything will be fine." Village head Araki still spoke in an orderly manner. For some reason, Kosuke Kindaichi felt more and more restless and uneasy. At this time, there was another gunshot from the opposite side, and then someone shouted in pain, and someone shouted: "Over there, over there." "The murderer has appeared!" Everyone started to run towards the gunshot, the shouting crowd surrounded the pirate cottage, and the torches moved from left to right. "Where did the suspect escape?" Qing Shui grabbed a young man from the search team and asked. "Over there, on the ridge. Please be careful, Ah Yuan is injured." "Wounded? Shot?" "Yes, fortunately it was grazed by a bullet, it doesn't matter." "Okay, everyone be careful!" The pirate cottage has two floors. Looking up, you can see a man running bent over the ridge on the upper floor.Because of the rocky ridge and the thin pines here and there, the figure seemed to appear and disappear. "Great, he ran over there, there is a deep valley over there, now let me catch a turtle in my urn!" Qingshui took the lead to climb up the upper ridge, stood on the ridge and looked down, with a panoramic view of the eastern sea.The moonlight shines on the sea, and the undulating tide shatters the moon's shadow. On the silver-black sea, little fishing lights are shining. "Bad guy! Now you have nowhere to go?" Shimizu shouted with some pride. "Qing Shui, watch out for the dog jumping over the wall!" Officer Isokawa hadn't finished speaking when a gunshot was heard suddenly. "ah!" Qing Gong from the barber shop let out a sharp scream. Everyone immediately lay down behind the bushes, using rocks as cover. I saw a man hiding behind a rock about ten meters away, looking over here.Since there are bushes behind the rocks, his face and body cannot be seen, but there is a deep valley to the left of the man, so there is no way to escape. "Drop your gun and surrender!" Shimizu shouted loudly to the other side. The bullet flew over Qingshui's head again, this is the man answering Qingshui with gunfire. "Qingshui, shoot! Pay attention, try to catch alive!" Officer Isokawa saw this scene and immediately gave the order. Qing Shui fired a shot, and the opponent immediately returned fire, and the police supporting the case fired two or three shots in succession. At this time, there was a sudden sharp scream, and a man was seen rolling down the valley to the left. "Oops!" Everyone looked into the valley, and saw the man rolled from the rock corner on the left to the bushes on the right, and then bounced like a rubber ball a few times before falling. "Go down and have a look!" Everyone climbed tree roots or leaned on rocks and walked into the sloping valley.Fortunately, there is no water at the bottom of this valley, only piles of rocks and lush bushes. "Where? Where is the person?" "It should be here..." "Ah! There are people over there." Qing Gong pointed to the front and shouted loudly. Sure enough, in the bushes about twenty feet away, there was indeed a person standing, and that person was looking at his feet without moving. "who is it?" Officer Isokawa asked sharply. The man didn't answer, still staring at his feet and standing still. "who is it?" Officer Isokawa asked again. "If you don't answer, I'm going to shoot you!" Hearing Officer Isokawa's voice, the other party shook his head slightly.At this moment, Kosuke Kindaichi quickly rushed into the bushes. "Officer, don't shoot!" Kosuke Kindaichi, with the hem of his hakama open, ran towards the standing figure like the wind. "Sanae!" It turned out that the person was Sanae, and Sanae wobbled forward two or three steps, and then she was about to fall down. Kosuke Kindaichi hurriedly hugged her. "Why, why are you here?" Kosuke Kindaichi couldn't help being very surprised when he saw Sanae, he stammered and asked. And Zaomu just raised her pale face and looked up at Kosuke Kindaichi, there was nothing in her empty eyes. "Sanae!" Kosuke Kindaichi yelled in her ear. "Sanae, do you know this man? Is he really your brother?" Kosuke Kindaichi pointed at the dead body of the man lying at her feet, while Sanae's face was distorted as if she couldn't cry for a long time. "No, he's not my brother!" She covered her face with her hands, and said as if she was about to vomit blood. "What a strange thing. There is no bullet wound on his body. It seems that he was not shot by a gun." Officer Isokawa also came over at this time, and said with a strange expression. Hearing this, Kosuke Kindaichi was taken aback, and immediately looked up reflexively at the pirate's cottage, but it was a pity that he could no longer see the rock from that angle. If there is any story to happen, it is at this time. There is another person in the ghost family...